Doggie maid

ABSTRACT

An apparatus which enables pet owners to remove pet excrement from unwanted areas and to deposit it in more acceptable locations, for instance at the gutter side of the curb. The apparatus comprises a shovel having a handle member and a collection member capable of being locked in one of two positions, a rake having a handle member and curved prongs at one end thereof, and a pail comprised of a container and a top having an opening therein. The excrement may be moved with the use of the rake onto the collection member of the shovel and then deposited at a more acceptable location. The rake is stored in the concave handle member of the shovel and the shovel is inserted through the opening in the container top for storage.

Grimes Mar. 12, 1974 1 DOGGIE MAID [76] Inventor: Lillian P. Grimes, 6003rd St. S.W.,

Washington, DC. 20024 [22] Filed: Sept. 26, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 292,467

52 u.s.c1 ..294/1 R, 15/2572, 294/52 51 1111. c1 A471 13/52 58 FieldofSearch 294/1 R, 2, 10, 19 R, 24,

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Switzerland 15/2572 PrimaryE5raminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant Examinerlohnny D. Cherry 1 Attorney,Agent, or FirmBrowne, Beveridge, De- Grand & Kline [57] ABSTRACT Anapparatus which enables pet owners to remove pet excrement from unwantedareas and to deposit it in more acceptable locations, for instance atthe gutter side of the curb. The apparatus comprises a shovel having ahandle member and a collection member capable of being locked in one oftwo positions, a rake having a handle member and curved prongs at oneend thereof, and a pail comprised of a container and a top having anopening therein. The excrement may be moved with the useof the rake ontothe collection member of the shovel and then deposited at a moreacceptable location. The take is stored in the concave handle member ofthe shovel and the shovel is inserted through the opening in thecontainer top for storage.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures I inserted in the shovel handle in FIG. 1.

noccnz MAID This invention relates to an apparatus which enables petowners to remove pet excrement from unwanted areas and to deposit it inmore acceptable locations, for instance at the gutter side of the curb.

It is not always possible to train pets to attend to their needs atlocations which society has deemed acceptable. Even pets which may beconsidered to be trained will sometimes vary from their normal routineand provide the owner and pedestrianspasserbys with unpleasant surprisesat undesirable locations. The present invention provides a solution tothis problem which is to provide a means for allowing the personattending the pet to remove the excrement which is deposited where itdoes not belong and to re-deposit it at a more acceptable location.Because according to the means of the invention a human being isultimately responsible for the location at which the excrement isdeposited perfect curbing results are always attained.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an apparatus forenabling a pet owner to effectively curb his pet.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus forcollecting and disposing of animal fecal matter which can be easilystored.

The invention will be more fully understood by referring to thefollowing detailed description in conjunction with the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial illustration of all of the components of theapparatus of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the shovel shown at l, in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3, is a detailed drawing of the detent mechanism of the shovel.

FIG. 4, is an illustration of the rake which is shown Basically, theapparatus of the invention is comprised of shovel 1, rake 2, and pail 3.Excrement which has been deposited by a pet such as a dog being walkedby his owner, in an unwanted place may be manipulated by the owner withthe rake onto the shovel and may then be carried to a more desirablelocation such as the gutter side of a curb where the shovel is emptied.

Shovel 1, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is comprised of handle member 4 andcollection member 5. Both the handle member and the collection membermay be made of any suitable metal such as aluminum, or of a plasticmaterial. Handle member 4 is a member of concave cross'section havinginner and outer concentric concave surfaces. Member 4 is somewhattapered near the bottom end thereof at portionsl4 and has a hook means 9disposed near the top end at the inner concave surface as shown inFIG. 1. Carrying loop 8 is attached to the top of the outside of handlemember 4 for easy carrying of the shovel and may be made of plastic orleather material.

Collection member 5 is slightly concave in shape so as to suitablyaccommodate the excrement. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, sides 6 and 7project forward slightly further than does the middle of the member.Collection member 5 is arranged so that it may be locked in one directedupwardly and covers part of the shovel handle member as shown in FIG. 1.Handle member 4 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is tapered at neck portions14, located on either side of member 11. The concave collection surfacehas support piece 10 attached thereto, for instance by welding if thecollection member is metal. Secured to piece 10, for instance, again bywelding, is longitudinally extending member 11, having three holes 12,13 and 20 therein. Sea] member 16, secures portions 14 of the handlemember to member 1 1 of the collection member by being inserted throughhole 20 of member 11 and therefor collection member 5, may thereforpivot about seal member 16.

Neck portions 14 have projections 15, molded therein. Projections 15 incombination with holes 12 and 13, form a detent mechanism which allowsthe collection member to be locked either in the operating or storageposition.

In the operating position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,

projections 15 are locked into hole 13. To move the collection member tothe storage position shown in FIG. 1, it is necessary to move thecollection member in a counter-clockwise direction in FIG. 2, so thathole 13, becomes displaced from projections 15. The Collection membermay then be rotated in the counterclockwise direction about seal member16, until hole 12 encounters projections 15. The Collection member maythen be rotated in the counterclockwise direction about seal member 16,until hole 12 encounters projections 15, whereupon the collection memberis pushed toward projections 15 until they lock'into hole 12 and thecollection member is locked in the storage position shown in FIG. 1.

Rake 2, is shown in its entirety in FIG. 4. The rake is comprised oflong, tubular handle member 17, which terminates at the top end thereofin loop 18 and at the bottom end thereof in prongs 19. The rake may becomprised of any suitable metal such as for instance, aluminum. As canbe seen in FIG. 4, prongs 19 are curved and may be secured to the handleportion 17 by bonding, twisting, or cementing as known to those skilledin the art.

Pail 3, shown in FIG. 1 is comprised of container 20 and top 22.Container 20, has a carrying handle 21 attached thereto andtop 22 has ahandle 23 attached thereto. Top 22, additionally has an opening 24therein so that the shovel may be inserted in the pail when not rake 2,to move the excrement along the ground onto the collection surface ofmember 5 of shovel 1 with the collection member being in the operatingposition. The shovel would be held at handle member 4 so that the loweredge of collection member 5 abuts the ground and the rake is held athandle member 17 and used to move the excrement onto collection member 5in dustpan fashion. The excrement is then carried on the shovel to anacceptable place such as the gutter side of the curb where the shovel isemptied. For storage purposes rake 2 which is shorter than handle member4 is hung on hook 9 at loop 18 so that the rake rests along the innerconcave surface of member 4 as shown in FIG. 1. The collection member 5of the shovel is moved to the storage position shown in FIG. 1 byengaging projections 15 with hole 12 of member 11 and the entire shovelcan be placed in opening 24 of container top 22, with the top in placeon the container for storage. The container "may be filled with adisinfectant cleaning fluid while the apparatus is stored.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention for medium sized dogs ashovel handle of approximately 24 inches may be used having acircumference of inches and a collection member which is 3 inches wide.The rake handle may be 22 inches long and the width across the prongsshould be less than the internal diameter of the shovel handle member 4.The container of the pail may be about 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide.It is to be understood that the above dimensions are exemplary only andthat changes to dimensions will be apparent to those skilled in the artand which come within the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for collecting and disposing of animal fecal matter,comprising in combination a shovel and a rake having a plurality ofsubstantially rigid prongs, the shovelbeing comprisedof a handle memberand a collection member which is located at one end of said handlemember, said collection member including a concave collection surfacewhich comes to a point at the forwardmost end thereof, and said rakeincluding a rake handle member and a plurality of curved prongs attachedat one end thereto which converge at said one end of said rake handlemember and diverge in a direction away from said rake handle member,said rake handle member having a loop at the top end thereof, saidhandle member of said shovel comprising an elongated concave memberhaving outside and inside concave surfaces, said inside surface definingan elongated round concave cavity for accomodating said rake, a hookmeans for engaging said loop and hanging said rake being disposed onsaid inside concave surface near the top thereof, said concave memberbeing at least as long as said rake, said shovel including means forrendering said collection member movable between an open position inwhich said collection surface is directed downwardly for collecting saidfecal matter and a closed storage position in which said collectionsurface is directed upwardly in a position approximately 180 removedfrom said open position and covers part of said inside concave surfaceand said rake when said rake is in said concave cavity, a pail in whichsaid shovel and rake may be stored, said pail having a removable topwhich has an opening therein for allowing the handle member of saidshovel to pass therethrough when said shovel is in said pail.

1. Apparatus for collecting and disposing of animal fecal matter,comprising in combination a shovel and a rake having a plurality ofsubstantially rigid prongs, the shovel being comprised of a handlemember and a collection member which is located at one end of saidhandle member, said collection member including a concave collectionsurface which comes to a point at the forwardmost end thereof, and saidrake including a rake handle member and a plurality of curved prongsattached at one end thereto which converge at said one end of said rakehandle member and diverge in a direction away from said rake handlemember, said rake handle member having a loop at the top end thereof,said handle member of said shovel comprising an elongated concave memberhaving outside and inside concave surfaces, said inside surface definingan elongated round concave cavity for accomodating said rake, a hookmeans for engaging said loop and hanging said rake being disposed onsaid inside concave surface near the top thereof, said concave memberbeing at least as long as said rake, said shovel including means forrendering said collection member movable between an open position inwhich said collection surface is directed downwardly for collecting saidfecal matter and a closed storage position in which said collectionsurface is directed upwardly in a position approximately 180* removedfrom said open position and covers part of said inside concave surfaceand said rake when said rake is in said concave cavity, a pail in whichsaid shovel and rake may be stored, said pail having a removable topwhich has an opening therein for allowing the handle member of saidshovel to pass therethrough when said shovel is in said pail.